Swing arm type material guiding robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses a swing arm type material guiding robot which is used for solving the problem that in the prior art, materials output by a cigarette making machine at a high position cannot be automatically guided to an outlet of a material bin of a packaging machine at a low position. The utility model provides a swing arm type material guiding robot. The swing arm type material guiding robot comprises a shell; the driving walking mechanism is connected with the shell and used for driving the shell to walk; the swing arm assembly is provided with at least one swing arm, and the swing arm is hinged to the left side face and / or the right side face of the shell, so that the swing arm swings relative to the shell, and the overall width of the swing arm type material guiding robot is changed. The robot can adapt to the width change of a material conveying channel between an upstream cigarette making machine and a downstream packaging machine, materials can be guided from an outlet of the cigarette making machine and filled into an outlet of a material bin of the packaging machine, and the robot can be moved away from the material conveying channel at any time; and the robot can be suitable for automatically guiding other materials with complex circuitous channels with right-angle bends and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of tobacco machinery technology, and specifically to a swing-arm material guiding robot that can adapt to changes in the width of the material conveying channel. Background Technology

[0002] On cigarette production and packaging lines, the most common layout is a cigarette rolling machine, a buffer device, and a packaging machine arranged in sequence. The cigarette rolling machine outputs many rod-shaped cigarettes, forming a smoke stream. This smoke stream then enters the buffer device along a conveyor channel, and subsequently enters the packaging machine for packaging according to the production process. The three work together to maximize production efficiency. For example, the rod-shaped material conveying buffer device provided in Chinese Patent CN201821389052.2 is currently the most common structure on cigarette production and packaging lines. This patent explains the principle of the coordinated conveying of cigarettes by the cigarette rolling machine, buffer device, and packaging machine.

[0003] On the existing production line, there is a vertical drop of nearly 3 meters between the outlet of the material diversion device of the buffer equipment and the inlet of the downstream packaging machine hopper. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the docking structure between an existing cigarette rolling machine (not shown in the figure) and a buffer device, where the arrows indicate the material conveying direction. Figure 1 In the middle, the cigarettes produced by the cigarette rolling machine are lifted and then enter through the inlet ( Figure 1 The material enters through the material diversion device 2 (inlet position indicated by the arrow in the upper right corner), and sequentially passes through the material diversion device 2 and the vertical drop channel 3 to connect to the packaging machine's hopper 4. The material diversion device 2 also has a bidirectional material outlet connecting to the buffer device. Because there is a significant vertical drop between the material diversion device 2 and the downstream packaging machine, to prevent the smoke from the upstream cigarette machine from becoming scattered, all conveying channels (e.g., the inlet of the material diversion device and the outlet of the downstream packaging machine's hopper) need to be adjusted each time the production line starts to avoid this. Figure 1 The area shown by the diagonal line is pre-filled with smoke flow.

[0004] Currently, the production line uses manual assistance to fill the cigarette stream. However, because the material diversion device is positioned high relative to the ground, operators need to climb to a height to operate it, posing significant safety hazards. Furthermore, if the upstream cigarette-making machine stops midway during the manual filling process, operators must remain standing at the height until the problem is resolved and the cigarette stream output from the machine aligns neatly with the pre-filled cigarette stream at the material diversion device's inlet before returning to the ground. Clearly, the existing production line is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and inefficient in cigarette guiding during the cigarette connection process.

[0005] To address this problem, Chinese patent CN201510791688.4 provides a rod-shaped guide device adapted to irregularly shaped channels, capable of guiding such materials without manual intervention. Figure 1 The material diversion device 2 shown in the diagram automatically guides the flue gas from its inlet to the inlet of the packaging machine 4 below, but this receiving device still has the following problems:

[0006] (1) The cigarettes can only be guided to the inlet of the packaging machine hopper. After that, the packaging machine hopper still needs to be manually filled.

[0007] (2) During the cigarette guiding process, if it is necessary to remove the guiding device in the conveying channel due to some emergency, the removal process is difficult due to structural limitations (the left side of the receiving mechanism 3 is fixed and can only be rotated to retract the receiving support 33 in the channel);

[0008] (3) This receiving device can only be adapted to general conveying channels of vertical and inclined types, and cannot be used for guiding cigarettes through complex and winding channels such as right-angle bends. Utility Model Content

[0009] The purpose of this invention is to solve the problems that existing rod-shaped material guiding devices can only guide materials to the inlet of the packaging machine hopper, the packaging machine hopper still needs to be filled manually, it is inconvenient to remove the guiding device during the material guiding process, and it cannot be applied to material guiding with complex and winding channels such as right-angle bends.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a swing-arm material guiding robot for guiding materials in a material conveying channel. The swing-arm material guiding robot includes:

[0011] case;

[0012] A drive mechanism is connected to the housing and is used to drive the housing to move.

[0013] A swing arm assembly having at least one swing arm hinged to the left and / or right side of the housing, thereby allowing the swing arm to swing relative to the housing, and by adjusting the swing angle of the swing arm, changing the overall width of the swing arm material guide robot.

[0014] In some embodiments, the swing arm assembly further includes: a swing arm motor corresponding to each swing arm; the swing arm motor is connected to the housing, the swing arm motor has a rotatable output shaft, and the fixed end of the swing arm is connected to the output shaft of the corresponding swing arm motor.

[0015] In some embodiments, the swing arm is made of an elastic material.

[0016] In some embodiments, the swing arm includes: a first plate and a second plate;

[0017] The first plate is disposed at the fixed end of the swing arm, and the first end of the first plate in the length direction is hinged to the left or right side of the housing. The second end of the first plate in the length direction is connected to the first end of the second plate in the length direction.

[0018] The elasticity of the material in the second plate is greater than that in the first plate.

[0019] In some embodiments, the housing is rhomboid, with the four corners of the rhomboid located in the direction of motion of the swing-arm material guiding robot and in a direction transverse to the direction of motion; the length of the first plate is less than the side length of the rhomboid.

[0020] In some embodiments, the driving mechanism includes a drive motor and a drive wheel; the drive motor is installed inside the housing, the output end of the drive motor is connected to the drive wheel, and the wheel surface of the drive wheel is at least partially exposed on the back of the housing.

[0021] In some embodiments, the back of the housing is also provided with casters.

[0022] In some embodiments, the drive wheel is a magnetic wheel, used to be adsorbed onto the magnetically conductive backplate of the material conveying channel.

[0023] In some embodiments, the swing-arm material guiding robot further includes:

[0024] The support base is set at a preset position in the middle of the packaging machine's hopper to limit and support the housing that moves along the material conveying direction.

[0025] In some embodiments, the support base is Y-shaped or V-shaped.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: By setting a swing arm, the length of which can be determined according to the width of the packaging machine's hopper, the swing arm can be controlled to change the overall width of the entire swing arm-type material guiding robot during its swing, so as to adapt to the width changes of the material conveying channel between the upstream cigarette machine and the downstream packaging machine; In addition, since there is no fixed connection between the robot and the material conveying channel, the robot can be driven to move in the material conveying channel by driving the traveling mechanism, so that the material can be guided from the cigarette machine outlet and filled to the packaging machine's hopper outlet without manual assistance in filling the packaging machine's hopper, and the robot can be easily removed from the material conveying channel at any time. The robot can be used for automatic material guidance in other complex and winding channels with right-angle bends, etc. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the docking structure between the existing cigarette rolling machine and the buffer device;

[0029] Figure 2 A front structural schematic diagram of the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model;

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the rear structure of the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model;

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an application scenario for the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model;

[0032] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the material diversion device 2;

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the swing arm 15 retracting downwards to its limit position;

[0034] Figures 7A-7F A schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model guiding materials to fill the entire material conveying channel from top to bottom;

[0035] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a material conveying mechanism including a support base provided by this utility model;

[0036] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the Y-shaped support provided by this utility model;

[0037] Figure 10 A schematic diagram illustrating another application scenario for the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model;

[0038] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another application scenario for the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0039] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments.

[0040] This embodiment provides a swing-arm material guiding robot 1, used to guide materials in the material conveying channel between an upstream cigarette machine and a downstream packaging machine, such as... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 includes: a housing 11, a drive and walking mechanism, and a swing arm assembly;

[0041] The housing 11 serves as a mounting carrier for the various components of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1.

[0042] A drive mechanism is connected to the housing 11 and is used to drive the housing 11 to move.

[0043] The swing arm assembly has at least one swing arm 15, which is hinged to the left and / or right side of the housing 11, with the hinge axis axially perpendicular to the back of the housing 11, so that the swing arm 15 swings relative to the housing 11 to change the overall width of the swing arm material guide robot 1.

[0044] Since the swing arm 15 is hinged to the housing 11 Figure 2 In the process, the swing arm 15 can rotate clockwise or counterclockwise around the hinge axis (i.e., swing relative to the housing 11), thereby changing the overall width of the entire swing arm material guiding robot 1 during the swing process, so as to adapt to the width change of the material conveying channel between the upstream cigarette machine and the downstream packaging machine, especially suitable for the width change from the inlet to the outlet of the packaging machine hopper.

[0045] The swing-arm material guiding robot 1 of this utility model also includes a power supply, a communication module, a control module, and various sensor modules, etc., which are not shown in the figure. The sensing and control functions of this robot are not the focus of this article and will not be described in detail here.

[0046] Preferably, such as Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the driving mechanism of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided in this embodiment may include: a drive motor 13 and a drive wheel 12. The drive motor 13 is installed inside the housing 11, and the output end of the drive motor 13 is connected to the drive wheel 12, and as shown in the figure. Figure 3 As shown, at least part of the wheel surface of the drive wheel 12 is exposed above the back of the housing 11, so that when the drive wheel 12 is driven by the drive motor 13 to move the housing 11, the back of the housing 11 does not contact the plane that contacts the drive wheel 12.

[0047] Preferably, such as Figure 3 As shown, the back of the housing 11 is also provided with casters 14. The two sets of casters 14 assist in supporting the housing 11 when the swing arm material guide robot 1 moves. The drive motor 13 controls the travel direction of the swing arm material guide robot 1 through differential speed control.

[0048] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the swing-arm material guiding robot provided by this utility model, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the material conveying channel is at least enclosed by a back plate 26, a left side plate 31, and a right side plate 32. The swing-arm material guiding robot 1 is located within the material conveying channel, and the outlet of the material conveying channel connects to the downstream packaging machine hopper 4. In this application scenario, because the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 can adjust its overall width by controlling the swing arm 15 to adapt to changes in the width of the material conveying channel, for example, when the width of the material conveying channel is inconsistent in the material conveying direction, or when the material is conveyed from the material conveying channel to the packaging machine hopper 4, the width of the material conveying channel changes significantly. The swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model can adapt to these width changes, and during the material conveying process, it always blocks the front end of the material to prevent it from scattering and effectively guides and conveys it.

[0049] Obviously, the material conveying channel applicable to the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model may also include, for example, Figure 4 The material diversion device 2 shown in the figure Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the material diversion device 2 is shown below. The material diversion device 2 includes a first conveying module 21, a second conveying module 22, a third conveying module 23, a fourth conveying module 24, and a connecting plate 27. The first conveying module 21, the second conveying module 22, and the back plate 26 form a material inlet for connecting to the upstream cigarette machine. The third conveying module 23, the fourth conveying module 24, and the back plate 26 form a bidirectional material inlet for connecting to the material buffer equipment. One end of the left side plate 31 is bent and extended to connect to the left end of the first conveying module 21, and the other end of the left side plate 31 is connected to the inlet side of the packaging machine hopper 4. The connecting plate 27 is installed between the left ends of the second conveying module 22 and the third conveying module 23. One end of the right side plate 32 is connected to the left end of the first conveying module 21, and the other end of the right side plate 32 is connected to the other side of the inlet of the packaging machine hopper 4. In this embodiment, the main conveying power for material conveying comes from the first conveying module 21 and the second conveying module 22. The third conveying module 23 and the fourth conveying module 24 operate under specific conditions, which will not be described in detail here.

[0050] Preferably, such as Figure 5 As shown, the turning point of the material conveying channel in the material diversion device 2 is not a vertical turn, but rather a certain space is reserved as an adjustment chamber 28. The adjustment chamber 28 is used to adjust the material conveying speed by adjusting the material height inside the adjustment chamber 28 when the conveyed material turns. The material diversion device 2 also includes a detection element 25 disposed in the adjustment chamber 28 for detecting the material height inside the adjustment chamber 28.

[0051] Furthermore, the material conveying channel to which the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model is applicable may also include a component installed on the front side of the material conveying channel. Figure 4 The direction perpendicular to the plane shown is defined as the forward direction. A door (not shown in the figure) is preferably made of transparent material, allowing operators to easily observe the material conveying process inside the conveying channel in real time. Clearly, the height of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this invention is less than the distance between the back plate 26 and the front door, allowing the swing-arm material guiding robot to move freely in the material conveying channel without interference.

[0052] Since there are many types of packaging machines and various ways to connect them to cigarette machines, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model can be applied to... Figure 4 The material conveying channel structure shown, including the vertical drop channel 3, can also be applied to, for example... Figure 10 The material conveying channel structure shown includes an inclined conveying channel 7 with a right-angle bend.

[0053] exist Figure 11 The image shows a more complex material conveying channel scenario between the upstream cigarette machine (not shown) and the packaging machine's hopper 4. This material conveying channel includes a material diversion device 2, a horizontal conveying channel 8, a material dropping device 9, and a vertical dropping channel 3, connected sequentially. In this application scenario, the movement path of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this invention is as follows: starting from the material diversion device 2 and moving along... Figure 11 The material is guided in the direction indicated by the middle arrow. When the horizontal conveying channel 8 is arc-shaped, the back plate of one section of the horizontal conveying channel 8 is also arc-shaped. The chassis design of the swing-arm material guiding robot can be changed so that it can still be attached to the back plate for operation, or the back plate can be removed here and the conveyor belt can provide the power for the swing-arm material guiding robot to move forward. After that, the swing-arm material guiding robot guides the material through the unloading device 9 and the vertical falling channel 3, and then enters the packaging machine hopper 4, completing the material guiding function.

[0054] Figure 11 There are two places where materials fall vertically and require material guidance: the diversion device 2 and the unloading device 9. Alternatively, a robot can be placed at each of these locations to guide the materials. The robot at the diversion device 2, after completing its guidance, leaves the channel and is stored in a pre-set storage space near the channel; the robot at the unloading device 9, after completing its guidance, remains in the packaging machine's hopper and acts as a diversion block.

[0055] Apart from Figure 4 , Figure 10 , Figure 11In addition to the work scenarios shown, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided in this embodiment can also be applied to other similar channels with right-angle bends, U-turns, S-shapes and various combinations for connecting the cigarette machine outlet located at a high position and the packaging machine inlet located at a low position, which will not be described in detail here.

[0056] The following is a detailed description of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model.

[0057] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the swing arm assembly of the swing arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model preferably includes two swing arms 15, which are respectively installed on the left and right sides of the housing 11. The two swing arms 15 extend from the left and right sides of the housing 11, respectively. By adjusting the swing angle of the two swing arms 15, the adjustable range of the width of the swing arm material guiding robot 1 can be further expanded.

[0058] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown in the diagram, the swing arm assembly provided in this embodiment further includes a swing arm motor 16 corresponding to each swing arm 15. The swing arm motor 16 is connected to the housing 11, and the swing arm motor 16 has a driveable rotatable output shaft as the hinge shaft of the swing arm 15. The fixed end of each swing arm 15 is connected to the output shaft of a swing arm motor 16, and the swing arm motor 16 drives the swing arm 15 to swing relative to the housing 11. The left and right swing arms 15 are driven by two swing arm motors 16 respectively, and each swing arm motor 16 can independently control the swing angle of the swing arm 15.

[0059] In some optional embodiments, the swing arm 15 is approximately planar without external force, and the planar direction is perpendicular to the back of the housing 11. The material of the swing arm 15 is an elastic material, that is, the swing arm 15 is an elastic element, so that it can bend and deform under the action of external force. Under the premise that the width of the swing arm material guide robot 1 is adapted to the width of the material conveying channel by adjusting the swing arm angle, the ends of the swing arms 15 on both sides of the robot will undergo elastic deformation when they contact the inner wall of the material conveying channel, so as to realize the secondary adjustment of the robot width. This can further improve the fit between the left and right sides of the robot and the material conveying channel, and avoid the occurrence of material leakage and disorder due to poor fit.

[0060] In an alternative embodiment, such as Figure 3As shown, the swing arm 15 includes a first plate 152 and a second plate 151. The first plate 152 is disposed at the fixed end of the swing arm 15 (the end connected to the housing 11). The first end of the first plate 152 in the longitudinal direction is hinged to the left or right side of the housing 11. For example, the first end of the first plate 152 in the longitudinal direction is connected to the output shaft of the swing arm motor 16. The second end of the first plate 152 in the longitudinal direction is connected to the first end of the second plate 151 in the longitudinal direction. In particular, the elasticity of the material of the second plate 151 is equal to or greater than that of the material of the first plate 152. Since the stronger the elasticity of the material, the easier it is to deform, the first plate 152, which has weaker elasticity, is connected to the swing arm motor 16. Driven by the swing arm motor 16, the second plate 151, which has stronger elasticity, and the first plate 152, which has weaker elasticity, are connected together and swing together.

[0061] During operation, the more flexible second plate 151 contacts the side plates on both sides of the material conveying channel (e.g., Figure 4 The left side plate 31 and right side plate 32 are used to elastically deform as needed to adapt to changes in the width of the material conveying channel, while also supporting the cigarettes on top. The first plate 152, which has weaker elasticity, and the second plate 151, which has stronger elasticity, can be made of two different elastic materials, or they can be a combination of different thicknesses and layers of the same material; the first plate 152, which has weaker elasticity, can also be completely inelastic, such as being made of metal. By combining the two types of elastic plates, it is possible to ensure that the swing arm extends as far as possible to cover a greater range of channel width changes, while avoiding collisions and interference with the channel, thus preventing damage.

[0062] It is worth noting that, Figure 3 The pivot of the swing arm 15 (output shaft of the swing arm motor 16) is located at the left and right vertices of the housing of the swing arm material guiding robot 1. As needed, the pivot of the swing arm 15 and the swing arm motor 16 can also be located anywhere on the swing arm material guiding robot 1. The swing arm 15 can also be constructed in various other suitable shapes, which will not be described in detail here.

[0063] In some alternative embodiments, the housing 11 has a rhomboid shape, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the four corners of the rhombus are located in the direction of movement of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 and in the direction transverse to the direction of movement, respectively. The length of the first plate 152 is less than the side length of the rhombus, so that when the left and right swing arms retract in the forward direction of the direction of movement of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1, the second ends of the first plates 151 on both sides will not interfere with or touch each other. Thus, when the first plate 152 swings forward in the direction of movement of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 at the maximum swing angle, each first plate 152 is close to one side of the rhombus of the shell 11.

[0064] Figure 6A schematic diagram shows the swing arm 15 retracted to its limit position. In this state, the less elastic first plate 152 is pressed tightly against the side of the robot's shell 11, while the second ends of the two more elastic second plates 151 are deformed and pressed together due to mutual compression. It can be seen that in this state, since the extension direction of the second ends of the pressed second plates 151 is the same as the material conveying direction, the retracted swing arm 15 will not affect the actual material conveying process during subsequent conveying. As for the swing arm 15 swinging in another direction (e.g., in…),… Figure 4 The swing arm 15 swings upward in the plane shown. When it swings to the limit position in the other direction, its state can be mirrored and symmetrical with the limit state of downward contraction. It does not affect the material conveying. The specific swing angle of the swing arm 15 can be adjusted in real time as needed.

[0065] The following is Figure 4 Taking the material conveying channel shown as an example, the working principle of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model will be explained in detail.

[0066] Figures 7A-7F This demonstrates the process of a swing-arm material guiding robot 1 guiding materials from top to bottom to fill the entire material conveying channel:

[0067] (1) In Figure 7A In the middle, the material enters horizontally into the material diversion device 2 of the material conveying channel through the material inlet in the upper right corner. The conveying power comes from the first conveying module 21 and the second conveying module 22. From Figure 7A As can be seen, when the material flow just enters the material conveying channel, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 has been deployed in place. The two sets of swing arms 15 on both sides of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 are respectively attached to the detection element 25 and the connecting plate 27 to ensure that the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 can completely block the material flow and prevent material leakage.

[0068] (2) such as Figure 7B As shown, when there is no longer any gap between the material flow and the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 (i.e., when the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 has fully carried the head of the material flow), the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 communicates with the preset host, and the preset host controls its movement speed in the material conveying channel. At the same time, the left and right swing arms 15 swing independently to ensure close contact with the left and right inner sides of the material diversion device 2.

[0069] (3) such as Figure 7C As shown, when the swing arm material guide robot 1 moves into the vertical descending section of the material conveying channel, the two swing arms of the swing arm material guide robot 1 are controlled to closely fit the left side plate 31 and the right side plate 32, and the swing arm material guide robot 1 is controlled to move vertically downward.

[0070] (4) such as Figure 7D As shown, the swing arm material guiding robot 1 guides the cigarette into the packaging machine hopper 4. The width of the material conveying channel varies more here. During the downward movement of the swing arm material guiding robot 1, the swing arm 15 is controlled to swing in coordination to ensure that the swing arm 15 is completely in contact with the two side plates of the packaging machine hopper 4.

[0071] (5) such as Figure 7E As shown in the figure, the diversion block 42 in the original packaging machine hopper 4 is removed. When the control arm material guiding robot 1 reaches the pre-specified position in the packaging machine hopper 4 (e.g., the position of the original diversion block 42), it stops. At this time, the packaging machine hopper 4 is not completely filled with material. The control arm 15 of the control arm material guiding robot 1 continues to swing downward along the two side plates of the packaging machine hopper 4, guiding the material to continue filling the packaging machine hopper 4 from both sides downward.

[0072] (6) Finally, as Figure 7F As shown, the two swing arms 15 are fully retracted, the first plate 152 with weaker elasticity is pressed tightly against the side of the robot's shell 11, and the two sets of second plates 151 with stronger elasticity are pressed and deformed together due to mutual compression. The retracted swing arms 15 will not affect the operation of the cigarette at all.

[0073] In this embodiment of the invention, a swing-arm material guiding robot 1 is used to lift / guide cigarettes to complete the filling process of the material conveying channel. Finally, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 stops at a pre-designated position in the packaging machine's hopper 4. Because the vertical drop from the top inlet of the material conveying channel to the bottom outlet of the packaging machine's hopper 4 is significant, the resulting excessive mechanical pressure could damage the conveyed material. Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the shell 11 of the swing-arm material guiding robot 11 is designed as a rhombus with sharp corners at the top and bottom. When the swing-arm material guiding robot 11 stops at the pre-designated position in the packaging machine's hopper 4, it can also be used as a diversion block after the cigarette guidance is completed, diverting the material flow down the packaging machine's hopper 4. This reduces the mechanical pressure on the cigarettes, improves the quality of cigarette conveying, and does not affect the normal conveying of the material flow. After the material in the packaging machine's hopper 4 is emptied, before the next task begins, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 returns to its initial position along the material conveying channel to await the next guidance. In addition, the shape of the swing-arm material guiding robot 11 can be changed to other shapes as needed, depending on the shape of the packaging machine's hopper 4. As long as the new design shape matches the hopper and can achieve the purpose of not affecting the movement of the smoke, reducing the mechanical pressure on the cigarette, and not causing damage to the cigarette.

[0074] In some preferred embodiments, the back plate 26 in the material conveying channel is made of a magnetic material, and the drive wheel 12 of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 is a magnetic wheel. The magnetic drive wheel 12 is made of a permanent magnet, which enables the swing-arm material guiding robot to be firmly attached to the magnetic back plate 26. Through this magnetic attraction method, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 can be controlled to move along a pre-specified route in the material conveying channel. Especially in the vertical descent section of the material conveying channel, the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 is attached to the magnetic back plate 26 and will not fall off under the action of gravity.

[0075] The swing-arm material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model achieves its wall-climbing function through magnetic attraction. However, due to the high vibration in the working environment of the downstream packaging machine, after long-term operation, it may need to be positioned... Figure 7E The position of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 at the pre-designated diversion location is moved; therefore, more preferably, as... Figure 8 As shown, the material guiding robot 1 provided by this utility model also includes a support base 6 that is separate from the robot body and connected to the housing 11, etc. This support base 6 is located at a preset position in the middle of the packaging machine's material bin 4, and is used to limit and support the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 moving along the material conveying direction. During material guiding, when the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 moves to the support base 6, it is blocked from moving forward by the support base 6, and the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 immediately stops moving at that position. The support base 6 can accurately locate the diversion position where the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 needs to stop, and can also limit and support the swing-arm material guiding robot 1, preventing it from shifting after long-term operation.

[0076] like Figure 8 As shown, the support base 6 is V-shaped to accommodate the bottom shape of the rhomboid housing 11 of the swing-arm material guide robot 1.

[0077] Preferably, such as Figure 9 As shown, the support base 6 is Y-shaped. On the one hand, it can completely fit the bottom shape of the rhomboid shell 11 of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1. On the other hand, the Y-shaped support base 6 can provide better rigid support, and prevent the robot position from changing after the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 reaches the position shown in the figure.

[0078] The combination of the support base 6 and the shell 11 of the swing arm material guiding robot 1 can be as follows: (1) the support base 6 is closely attached to the side of the shell 11 to achieve support; (2) the side of the shell 11 is provided with a recessed position that matches the shape of the support base 6 so that the support base 6 is fully embedded in the shell 11 after the two are combined. After being embedded, the side of the swing arm material guiding robot 1 can be smoother and more conducive to the movement of materials on the side.

[0079] In addition, for example Figure 6 As shown, the second ends of the two sets of more elastic second plates 151 are pressed together due to mutual compression and deformation. Ideally, the two second plates 151 on both sides have equal elasticity, and after being pressed together, they will be perpendicular to the ground, which is most conducive to the movement of material. However, after long-term operation, the elasticity of the second plates 151 on both sides may differ, causing them to tilt to one side after being pressed together, thus hindering the movement of material. At this time, Figure 9 The support 6 in the middle plays another function: the bottom of the Y-shaped support 6 blocks the more elastic plate in the second plate 151 on both sides, so that the two sets of second plates 151 are tightly attached after deformation, ensuring that they are in a vertical state after being closed.

[0080] Furthermore, a charging interface for the swing-arm material guiding robot 1 can be provided at the support base 6. The swing-arm material guiding robot 1 can be wired or wirelessly charged at this location for use by the internal electrical components of the swing-arm material guiding robot 1.

[0081] This invention features a robotic swing arm 15, the length of which can be determined based on the width of the packaging machine's hopper 4. By controlling the swing arm 15 to swing, the overall width of the entire swing-arm material guiding robot 1 can be changed during its swing, adapting to the width changes of the material conveying channel between the upstream cigarette machine and the downstream packaging machine. Furthermore, since there is no fixed connection between the robot 1 and the material conveying channel, the robot 1 is driven to move within the material conveying channel by a driving mechanism. Therefore, materials can be guided from the cigarette machine outlet and filled to the packaging machine's hopper outlet without manual assistance in filling the packaging machine's hopper. Moreover, the robot 1 can be easily removed from the material conveying channel at any time. The robot 1 is also suitable for automatically guiding materials through other complex and winding channels with right-angle bends or similar features.

[0082] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A swing-arm material guiding robot, characterized in that, The swing-arm material guiding robot, used for guiding materials in a material conveying channel, includes: Shell (11); A drive mechanism is connected to the housing (11) and is used to drive the housing (11) to move. A swing arm assembly having at least one swing arm (15) hinged to the left and / or right side of the housing (11) to swing the swing arm (15) relative to the housing (11) and to change the overall width of the swing arm material guide robot by adjusting the swing angle of the swing arm (15).

2. The swing-arm material guiding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The swing arm assembly further includes a swing arm motor (16) corresponding to each swing arm (15); the swing arm motor (16) is connected to the housing (11), the swing arm motor (16) has a driveable rotatable output shaft, and the fixed end of the swing arm (15) is connected to the output shaft of the corresponding swing arm motor (16).

3. The swing arm material guiding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material of the swing arm (15) is an elastic material.

4. The swing arm material guiding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The swing arm (15) includes: a first plate (152) and a second plate (151); The first plate (152) is disposed at the fixed end of the swing arm (15), and the first end of the first plate (152) in the length direction is hinged to the left or right side of the housing (11). The second end of the first plate (152) in the length direction is connected to the first end of the second plate (151) in the length direction. The elasticity of the material of the second plate (151) is equal to or greater than that of the material of the first plate (152).

5. The swing-arm material guiding robot according to claim 4, characterized in that, The shell (11) is rhomboid, and the four corners of the rhomboid are located in the direction of movement of the swing arm material guiding robot and in the direction transverse to the direction of movement, respectively. The length of the first plate (152) is less than or equal to the side length of the rhombus.

6. The swing arm material guiding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The driving mechanism includes a drive motor (13) and a drive wheel (12); the drive motor (13) is installed inside the housing (11), the output end of the drive motor (13) is connected to the drive wheel (12), and the wheel surface of the drive wheel (12) is at least partially exposed on the back of the housing (11).

7. Swing arm material guiding robot according to claim 6, characterized in that The back of the housing (11) is also provided with casters (14).

8. Swing arm material guiding robot according to claim 7, characterized in that The drive wheel (12) is a magnetic wheel, used to be adsorbed onto the magnetic back plate of the material conveying channel.

9. The swing-arm material guiding robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The swing-arm material guiding robot also includes: The support base (6) is set at a preset position in the middle of the packaging machine hopper (4) and is used to limit and support the shell (11) moving along the material conveying direction.

10. The swing-arm material guiding robot according to claim 9, characterized in that, The support base (6) is Y-shaped or V-shaped.

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